Rebel News political commentator David Menzies, who was arrested by police on Monday when he tried to ask questions of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, was arrested in 2021 when he tried to ask questions of Conservative MP Melissa Landsman.
On Monday, Mr. Menzies approached Ms. Freeland, microphone in hand, to ask her about the government's failure to date to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — Iran's ideological army — on its list of terrorist organizations.
Video shared by Rebel News shows Mr Menzies being quickly stopped by a police officer who said he was being arrested for assault. York Regional Police finally told various media outlets on Tuesday that the charges had been dropped.
The video quickly spread on the Internet, drawing the attention of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who strongly condemned it.
“This is the state of press freedom. In Canada. In 2024. After eight years of Trudeau,” he enthused on X (formerly Twitter) Monday evening.
The Conservative Party also launched an online petition asking “Justin Trudeau to end his censorship regime and arrest journalists who dare to ask questions he doesn't like.”
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“Trudeau's policies have divided the media into two groups: those he buys with subsidies and those he censors and shuts down. Common-sense conservatives will not stand idly by when press freedom is violated by the Trudeau government and their bodyguards,” Marilyn Claud, chair of civil rights for the Conservatives, said in a press release.
However, he pitted Justin Trudeau against Conservative leader Erin O'Toole during the 2021 election campaign, and the same rebel news commentator was arrested when he tried to question Conservative candidate-to-be Melissa Landsman.
When he was arrested, Mr. Menzies wanted to ask Mrs. Landsman.
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